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Groundwater Circulation Wells for Geothermal

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Groundwater Circulation Wells for Geothermal PROCEEDINGS, 43rd Workshop on Geothermal Reservoir Engineering Stanford University, Stanford, California, February 12-14, 2018 SGP-TR-213 Groundwater Circulation Wells for Geothermal Use: Preliminary Results of the Project Integralsonde Type II Eva Dinkel1*, Burga Braun2, Moritz Muhrbeck3, Winfried Reul3, Alexander Meeder3, Ulrich Szewzyk2, Traugott Scheytt1 1Hydrogeology Research Group, Berlin Institute of Technology, Sekr. EB 10, Straße des 17. Juni 145, 10623 Berlin, Germany 2Department of Environmental Microbiology, Berlin Institute of Technology, Ernst-Reuter-Platz 1, 10587 Berlin, Germany 3Geo-En Energy Technologies GmbH, Schwedter Str. 9a, 10119 Berlin, Germany * Corresponding author: [email protected] Keywords: Groundwater circulation well, geothermal use, open loop, low-enthalpy, GWHP, groundwater quality, microbial community ABSTRACT Groundwater heat pump (GWHP) systems are a widespread technique to provide buildings with heating and cooling. Most open loop shallow GWHPs are doublet systems which consist of two wells, one for extraction and one for reinjection of groundwater. Hence, there has to be enough space to set up such a system. Shallow groundwater circulation wells (GCW) are an alternative. These open loop low-enthalpy shallow geothermal energy systems extract and inject groundwater in the same well via two filter screens at different depths. GCWs also demand less space, but so far there are only few installations. Our aim is to investigate the efficiency of those systems, their influence on groundwater chemistry and microbiology and evaluate their long-term productivity. These are the main research goals of the research project “Integralsonde type II” (01LY1507B /BMBF, KMU-innovativ). GCWs for geothermal use and their impact on groundwater quality are investigated at several sites in the quaternary main aquifer (Saalian age) in the Berlin (Germany) area. For the system studied, groundwater is extracted at the lower filter screen and pumped to a GWHP where the thermal energy is utilized for cooling or heating of the building and then re- injected via the upper well screen. The temperature gradient between extracted and injected groundwater is around 3 K. Since the groundwater circulates in the same aquifer which is used for drinking water production, it is crucial to avoid any negative impacts on groundwater. To reduce clogging, mineral precipitation, and dissolution, or physical processes such as particle mobilization, degassing, and flocculation, it is critical to prevent mixing of different hydrochemical zones. Especially the presence of high contents of ferrous iron and manganese are usually exclusion criteria for the installation of open geothermal groundwater systems. We monitored both newly installed as well as running GCWs by sampling groundwater from the well and nearby groundwater observation wells. Major anions and cations, especially ferrous iron, manganese and sulfate as redox sensitive parameters, as well as physicochemical parameters for redox zone determination were analyzed. To monitor changes within microbial community, DNA from groundwater samples was extracted and used for quantitative real-time PCR applying primers for iron-reducers, -oxidizers and sulfate-reducing bacteria. Our preliminary results showed that the redox zones in the vicinity of a newly installed GCW remained stable if groundwater was pumped in intermittent intervals. Continuous pumping over weeks changed the bacterial community of the produced water. A groundwater circulation well could therefore be a potential alternative for groundwater otherwise not suitable for open geothermal systems. 1. INTRODUCTION Groundwater circulation wells are originally known for their use in groundwater remediation (Scholz 2000; Mohrlok, et al. 2002, Johnson and Simon 2007). In the 1990s - 2000 they were used for pump-and-treat remediation of contaminated groundwater, pumping the contaminated groundwater to the surface, cleaning and re-injecting it into the aquifer. The system was rediscovered for its use for geothermal energy production (Xu and Rybach 2005). Other open systems, like doublets, consist of two separate wells for extraction and injection of groundwater. GCWs need only one well for extraction and injection and are therefore a space-saving alternative, especially in densely populated areas. Open shallow geothermal systems are highly energy efficient and considered to be environmentally friendly (Lo Russo, et al. 2012). Still, the number of newly installed open systems are far below those of closed systems (Rode, et al. 2015). Since groundwater is directly used as a heat carrier fluid, there are several requirements regarding groundwater quality, for example low iron and manganese contents to prevent clogging (VDI 2010). Possible impacts and processes of open shallow geothermal energy systems have been reviewed by Hähnlein, et al. (2013). Doublet systems and their impact have been described in several publications (e.g. Brons, et al. 1991, Bonte 2013, Possemiers, et al. 2016), but GCWs and their impact on groundwater quality has not been examined scientifically yet (Zeng, et al. 2017). One of the most common and crucial impediments for the operation of shallow, open loop geothermal systems is well aging through clogging of filter screens due to iron hydroxide precipitations (Hähnlein, et al. 2013, García-Gil, et al. 2016, Possemiers, et al. 2016) accelerated by microorganisms. Clogging as a technical problem leads to system productivity losses with increasing operation time. To avoid this negative effect, there are several recommendations for threshold concentrations in groundwater for iron and manganese concentrations, e.g. UMBW (2009) c(Fetotal) < 0.1 mg/l and c(Mntotal) < 0.05 mg/l. 1 Dinkel et al. These limitations and the complexity of clogging processes as well as keeping a shallow open-loop system oxygen-free might be the reasons why shallow open loop systems are still rare in the urban area of Berlin (Germany). With iron concentration of 2.97 mg/l ± 4.61 mg/l and maximum values up to 52.1 mg/l (Senatsverwaltung für Stadtentwicklung und Wohnen Berlin 2006), Berlin groundwater seems to be not suitable for the operation of open, shallow systems especially due to potential clogging at reinjection screens. Biotic processes in open geothermal systems in Berlin (Germany) have been analyzed by Lerm, et al. (2011), Vetter, et al. (2012), Eggerichs, et al. (2014), Eggerichs, et al. (2015), and Opel, et al. (2014). These studies showed that microbial activity is highly site- specific, depending on the local community of microorganisms, on the amount and reactivity of organic material available, and on the operation of the geothermal system. Our aim is to investigate the efficiency of GCWs, their influence on groundwater chemistry and microbiology and evaluate their long-term productivity within the urban area of Berlin, Germany. 2. SYSTEM DESCRIPTION Groundwater circulation wells (GCWs) for heating and cooling as the investigated type „Integralsonde“ (developed and installed by Geo-En Energy Technologies GmbH, Berlin, Germany) consist of a single well with two filter screens which are hydraulically decoupled. The system can be used in porous aquifers with a sufficient thickness of the permeable layer. Groundwater is pumped via the lower filter screen to a heat pump where heat or cooling energy is extracted and used for heating and cooling of buildings. Simultaneously the water is directly re-injected via return flow into the aquifer via the upper filter screen. Between the extraction (lower) and the re-injection (upper) filter screen a vertically directed pressure difference is developed resulting in the formation of a groundwater circulation cell. The injected water flows in bended tracks to the extraction well (Figure 1) Figure 1: Modeled circulation cell of re-injected groundwater from upper filter screen to lower filter screen. The depicted GCW is located at Berlin-Southwest site at pumping rate 8.6 m³/h without groundwater flow with FeFlow 6.1. The vertical expansion of the circulation cell is 40 m assuming a continuous pumping time of more than 100 days. Real operation cycles are less than four hours per day. Re-injected cooled water reaches in situ aquifer temperature through heat convection in the aquifer. When reaching the extraction filter the groundwater is heated up again and ready to use for heating purposes. Depending on hydraulic conductivity of the aquifer, the vertical distance between the filter screens, capacity of the circulation well (flow combined with temperature difference between flow and return) and operation time, the circulated water is cooled down during a heating period. An intermediate change between heating and cooling operation is possible. The alternating operation of heating and cooling of buildings leads to a balanced aquifer temperature with only a few Kelvin fluctuation within annual cycles. 3. MATERIAL AND METHODS Within this project three sites in and near Berlin with groundwater circulation wells have been monitored. We focused on hydrochemical and microbiological interactions between the system and the aquifer. Sampling of groundwater was conducted before installion of a new system as well as for running systems in weekly up to monthly intervals. Physicochemical parameters (specific electric conductivity EC [µS/cm], dissolved oxygen [mg/L], redox potential EH [mV] and pH), as well as anion and cation concentrations and dissolved organic carbon [ppm] in the flow water and return
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